Okay, so I may have been a little harsh on Saguaro National Park. I just needed to get to the Saguaro West campus, where the term “saguaro forest” finally meant something!

It’s a weirdly spindly forest, but the density of upright cacti on the Bajada Scenic Loop is quite impressive. We even got out for a bit of walking on the Hugh Norris Trail, but we didn’t go too far. It was super hot, and some in our party had already overdone it.

This one’s definitely worth another visit with more water, maybe some cooler weather, and more time for hiking and photos both.